No human life, not even the life of a hermit, is possible without a world which directly or indirectly testifies to the presence of other human beings.

The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure it is right.

Every country has the government it deserves.

There is no method by which men can be both free and equal.

O citizens, first acquire wealth; you can practice virtue afterward.

Whether for good or evil, it is sadly inevitable that all political leadership requires the artifices of theatrical illusion. In the politics of a democracy, the shortest distance between two points is often a crooked line.

My people and I have come to an agreement that satisfies us both. They are to say what they please, and I am to do what I please.

People revere the Constitution yet know so little about it—and that goes for some of my fellow senators.

The U.S. presidency is a Tudor monarchy plus telephones.

No free man shall be taken or imprisoned or dispossessed or outlawed or exiled, or in any way destroyed, nor will we go upon him, nor will we send against him except by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land.

You should never have your best trousers on when you go out to fight for freedom and truth.

I’m president of the United States, and I’m not going to eat any more broccoli!

Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them.